Ryou and Marik got rather good at shooting the mummies when they started to run along the walls like demented spiders. Horus was going to be real interested in how they explained those scorch marks to the muggles. Ought to be amusing.
Rick and Ardeth were shooting the things, and Rick managed to blast one into pieces. Horus was practically flooring the bus, since he knew the thing was beyond fast. One of the mummies came in, but the lower half had been blasted off. Horus yelled to Marik to give Mokuba the bat, and the kid took the hint. He hit the mummy like a pro, splattering it out of the bus into pieces. He was coughing up mummy dust for a minute or two.
"Tell my brother about that and you're a dead man," said Mokuba, irritated. The taste was beyond foul.
Horus just laughed.
Above them, another mummy was practically ripping the roof apart trying to get at the shooters. Rick kept shooting, but the mummy knocked his gun away. Akefia stuck the mummy with a knife which didn't do much good.
"THIS IS WHY I HATE MUMMIES! The bastards are always a bitch to kill!" yelled Akefia.
"INCENDIO MAXIMA!" yelled Ryou.
The mummy became a fireball and Rick had to duck.
"TURN!" yelled Evy, as the last mummy was about to skewer Ardeth with some long nails.
Horus jerked the wheel, and the shrunken head banged against the windshield. It was so ticked that it let off a whole slew of new curses, some of which Mokuba and Alex kept back for another day.
"I hear either of you repeating that, you'll get a whipping you won't soon forget," Evy warned them. Horus chuckled.
"Everyone alright down here?" yelled Rick.
Marik blasted the mummy in a spray of flames.
"Just fucking peachy! Gods, that was more annoying than having to deal with the fucking Pharaoh!" complained Marik.
Horus chuckled.
He finally stopped near the bridge, leaning heavily against the steering wheel.
"YOU LOT ARE GOING TO PAY FOR ALL THIS! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT'S GOING TO COST TO GET THIS BUS BACK INTO SERVICE!?"demanded the shrunken head.
"Oh come off it! Just tell them to charge it all to my vault," said Horus.
"Oh yeah? And what's your name jerk?" demanded the head.
"Dumbledore."
"You'll never ride this bus again Dumbledore, if I have anything to do with it!" snarled the head.
Akefia was trying hard not to snicker at what his brother just did. That old goat was in for a nasty shock when the aurors came to retrieve the bus.
Mokuba and Alex leaned against the back of the bus, near the doors...when suddenly they sprang open and both were grabbed by a man wearing red. The same one Ardeth had been fighting back at the house. Horus turned in time to see it happen and swore.
"SON OF A BITCH! Even in a different time he still gets kidnapped!" yelled Horus.
Ryou looked very amused.
"You know this is becoming repetitive. Maybe we should see if someone cursed him with a kidnapping spell or something," said Ryou.
"How can you be so calm! Your son was just kidnapped!" said Evy.
"SON!? Oh my gods... That is so..." said Horus, who broke down laughing hysterically.
"Evy, Mokuba isn't Horus' son. Horus is his bodyguard. In fact, Mokuba's older brother allowed him to come in order to avoid his brother being caught up in the mess a certain pain in the ass is involved in," said Akefia, amused as hell.
Once Horus had calmed down enough to be coherent, he finally got up.
"In any event, we better ditch the bus. The Aurors aren't going to be happy to find the people who stole it and you know they're going to charge us with repairs if we don't get out of here," said Horus, wiping tears of amusement out of his eye.
"How? Where are we going to find transportation around here?" asked Ryou.
"Hold on a minute..."
Horus reached into his bag and found a large sculpture of a hawk. He blew on it firmly, then threw it off the bridge.
A few moments later something massive with wings flew past him and landed on the railing.
Seeing the shocked looks on their faces, Horus winked at them all.
"Being a trained sorcerer from 5,000 years ago has its perks, particularly if the gods happen to favor you. He could last us long enough until we get into Egypt, but the disillusionment charm won't last nearly that long. Let's get our things and head to the airport. The plane we used to get here should serve us until we get to Egypt."
Most opted to ride on the hawk construct's back, but Akefia and Horus decided to ride on the rather sharp talons. If any aurors came too close, they would need the extra mobility to wing them.
Evy, Rick, Jonathan and Ardeth had taken the fact that the others were from the future with a grain of salt. However once they got into the plane that Horus borrowed from Seto Kaiba, the fact suddenly became a hell of a lot more convincing.
"What is half of this stuff?" asked Jonathan.
"Don't bother stealing anything. You aren't nearly advanced enough to handle even half of it," said Marik.
"That being said, anyone who wants to can hit the mini bar!" said Horus, dropping into the pilot's seat.
"Hold on, what are you doing?" asked Evy.
"Who did you think flew the plane? Akefia?" asked Horus.
"I can barely operate the TV remote," said Akefia in amusement.
"What about the tower?" said Rick.
"This is a privately listed plane, and a few coins means no one is going to ask for our flight number. Do you have an unlisted air field where we can land?" asked Horus.
"I know a few," said Rick.
"Why can't you people ever keep your feet on the ground?" asked Ardeth.
"What, don't tell me you actually rode a boat all the way to England!" said Akefia.
Ardeth didn't look him in the eye. Apparently he had.
"Dude, you mean to tell me that you're afraid to fly?" said Marik.
"No, I just don't like to. The only time I've every flown was on that death trap that Imhotep crashed," said Ardeth.
Horus, when he heard that, paused in his pre-flight checklist. He started to shake, then laughed uncontrollably.
"Oh gods that was hilarious to watch! None of you even considered asking us for help, and we flew there alongside you the entire time!" he said cackling.
Akefia was alongside him chortling.
"Alright everyone, fasten your seat belts! We're about to take off!" said Horus.
Sometime after take off, Ardeth migrated to the seat next to Horus.
"So you truly travel through time?"
"A bit of a habit, I'm afraid. First time Bastet dropped me on top of Akefia. Second time someone dragged me though the time stream in order to beat some wizard who thought he could cheat death. Third time was when we ran into you at Hamunaptra. This is my fourth trip."
A long black cat appeared next to Ardeth.
"It seems the gods have decided you and your brother are the best go to team in case wizards decide to mess with the time line. That being said, we have a job waiting for you when you get back."
"Time Turners?"
"Time Turners. These idiots keep getting their hands on the modified ones that go back years instead of hours."
Horus blinked.
"I thought they kept using some obscure spell."
"Nope. Modified Time Turners. Some fool got the idea while watching Doctor Who apparently. The only good thing is that the ones they are able to make are unable to go forward. Anyway, I want you and your brother to do what you do best and steal them. The less those fools meddle in time, the better it is for everyone."
"By the way, is there anything against me stealing Imhotep and bringing him back with us?"
Ardeth shot him an odd look.
"I can ask, but why do you want to know?"
"As fun as it is returning to see Rick and Evy, trying to keep Imhotep from being used by those damn wizards is a royal pain in the ass. If we take him back with us, he gets a second chance and we can keep an eye on him. Besides, it's not his fault he fell for a power-hungry bitch."
"I'll let you know what the others say. Anubis might want to claim him for waking Mathias up."
"As long as he takes most of those powers away, I don't care. Reduce him to a normal high priest and let him deal with that damn Pharaoh, and I bet he'll be much easier to live with. In any case, I sincerely doubt that reincarnated princess will save him if things get messy."
"Hmm... You may have a point. Force him to live outside his time, and he'll turn to the only people who understand him. Much easier to handle than an immortal mummy with god-like powers."
By the time they landed on the unregistered airfield, Rick had secured their transport. They would take a dirigible since it was quieter, and more importantly easier to land. Bastet would take the plane back to its proper time to refuel before bringing it back to Horus. The reason why he chose this particular model was because it had turbines that went straight up and down like a helicopter and could make take offs from sand.
Ardeth took that chance to speak to the Twelve Commanders, all who gave Horus a nod. Horus gave them the traditional greeting and wished them luck. He did laugh at the name Ardeth had for his hawk though.
Mokuba and Alex were taken to see Imhotep personally. When Imhotep removed his mask, Mokuba was surprised, but not particularly frightened.
At this point he was just glad Horus had been teaching him to speak Ancient Egyptian.
An hour later Mokuba sensed Imhotep's magic surge, which meant he had a proper body again.
Since dealing with Lock-Nah was rather boring, Mokuba decided to slip past him and hide in Imhotep's car. At least then he wouldn't have to listen to Alex irritate the man.
Imhotep was rather amused that Horus' charge came into his car without anyone knowing. The boy had magic and was well-trained to slip past the guards.
Then again, most of them tried to avoid him after he was resurrected.
"I am impressed that one so young as yourself is so comfortable in my presence," commented Imhotep.
"My brother is a reincarnated High Priest to the same Pharaoh Akefia and Horus hate so much. And frankly you are not nearly as scary as being stuck in the Shadow Realm without a monster to guard you," said Mokuba flatly.
Imhotep looked at Mokuba hard.
"Why is it that you are not terrified of being near me? I could kill you in a heartbeat," asked Imhotep.
"I'm friends with Horus and Akefia, who are far more stab happy than you are. Coincidentally, what is your plan once you actually do conquer to world?"
Imhotep blinked. He hadn't expected that question.
Mokuba looked at Imhotep expectantly. He knew exactly how to deal with the awakened mummy, and frankly Imhotep was like a more calm Akefia.
Imhotep thought about it, and when he answered the question Mokuba pointed out a few flaws in his plan. Amused, the former priest discussed with the boy how he was supposed to rule the world. He was very surprised to find Mokuba with a clear idea of how things worked and a few pointers should his plan succeed.
Imhotep was so amused by Mokuba that he decided to keep the boy alive once he succeeded in killing the Scorpion King and ruling the world. The boy had some good ideas.
He went back to reading his book when Imhotep's reincarnated lover came in. She didn't even notice him, which was odd. When the train screeched to a halt, Mokuba waited in the train car while Imhotep went to find Alex.
He could only assume Alex was the one who caused the train to stop, since he heard shooting.
"How the hell did you manage to escape that guy anyway?" asked Mokuba.
Alex was chained to a pole, while Mokuba was free to move around once he made it clear he wasn't interested in escaping. He was more interested in taking pictures and seeing this oasis.
"I broke the toilet from the floor and stopped the train long enough to escape through a hole. Why aren't you chained up?" asked Alex annoyed.
"Because they could care less if I just wander around taking pictures so long as I don't try to escape. It doesn't hurt that unlike you, I didn't try to annoy the one in charge of keeping an eye on us. Well, that and apparently Imhotep likes me."
"That undead bag of bones likes you?" said Alex incredulous.
"Well yeah. I speak Ancient Egyptian and I don't find him that scary. That, and the fact that I helped him iron out a few flaws in his plan to take over the world."
Alex's eyes bugged.
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I know for a fact he won't succeed. If he did, my brother and I wouldn't exist and neither would our time. In any event all I have to do is behave until we reach the Oasis where Horus and the others will catch up with us. It's easier to behave and act like a tourist on vacation than be a pain in the ass to the guards."
While Mokuba liked Alex well enough, he wasn't above pointing out some very obvious flaws in the boy's plan. There was a reason why he didn't try to escape. Then again, Alex was only eight years old, while Mokuba was roughly twelve and was used to helping his brother run a multi-million dollar company. Mokuba was a realist.
Evy found Alex's message in the sand, and she noted some odd drawings next to it.
"Horus!"
"I'm here... Ah, looks like Mokuba's already come up with a plan."
"What do you mean?" asked Ardeth.
"This is his handwriting. It says that he'll keep Alex out of trouble until we meet up at the oasis, since it's unlikely we'll catch up before then. Oh, and apparently he's managed to get Imhotep on his side," said Horus.
"What? How do you know that?"
"Because I can read Kanji. And I know this had to be done by Mokuba because he's the only one in their group that can write in Kanji," said Horus.
"Horus! You won't believe what I found in that train!" yelled Akefia.
"What?"
Akefia held up a familiar golden book.
Horus turned to Evy and Ardeth.
"Any objections to us throwing that into our treasure vault and leaving it there?"
"Do you plan to use it against humanity?" asked Ardeth.
"Why bother? Ruling the earth is too much of a chore and pissing off the Pharaoh takes much less effort than invoking the gods," said Horus.
"Then I have no objection at all. It's better to let you and your brother keep the books than allow others to get their hands on it. You two are possibly the only people I would trust with them, since you don't actually have a need to use them."
Horus grinned and had Maha Vialo place the golden book of Amun Ra somewhere near the North wall. It was promptly buried under a stack of gold which fell on top of it, and would not be found for nearly a year later when Horus went to read it out of boredom.
It would not be used again for much longer than that.